A recount of the vote tally in the Eatontown mayoral race, in which a Republican challenger unseated three-term Democratic Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, will take place Nov. 24 in Freehold.
According to Laura Kirkpatrick, director of public information for Monmouth County, a Superior Court judge approved the recount on Nov. 14 at the request of Tarantolo, who lost the election by a two-vote margin to Republican Councilman Dennis Connelly.
The recount will take place at the Monmouth County Board of Elections offices, 1 East Main St., Freehold Borough, at 10 a.m. Nov. 24.
“The recount will involve a recheck of the voting machines and a readout of the voting cartridges, just like election night. The information will be read by district. Then there will be a hand recount of all vote-by-mail ballots. Those will be totaled to determine the victor in Eatontown,” said Kirkpatrick, who stressed that the recount is for the mayoral election only.
In the Nov. 4 municipal election, Tarantolo drew a total of 1,479 votes, while Connelly tallied 1,481, according to the vote tally certified by the board of elections on Nov. 10.
According to the election board website, Tarantolo drew the majority of votes in four of the borough’s nine districts, while Connelly drew the majority of votes in five districts. A total of 2,966 votes were cast. “I have never been involved with a recount. There was never a need. After going through eight elections in my time in local government, this is the first time I have ever been confronted with a recount,” said Tarantolo, who is seeking a fourth term.
As the mayor of Eatontown since 1999, Tarantolo said he served on the council for 14 years before he was elected mayor.
Connelly, who is Borough Council president, said he doesn’t anticipate the recount to change anything.
“I knew [the recount] was going to happen, and that does not bother me. I am not worried about it,” he said.
“I do not feel like the votes were only counted once. I think [the board] knew the significance of this race and they wanted to take the time and make sure they got it right. Why not do it a couple times. I am feeling pretty confident about the results.”